That was a lot of fun! The inclusion of the Grumman F11F as a Mach 2 aircraft surprised me so much that I paused the video and looked it up. That was when I discovered the prototypes with the J79 engine... which you mentioned just a bit later in the video. That makes me wonder if it might be worth making a video about ground breaking engines?? The J79 was the key to a handful of significant aircraft. No doubt that other engines also fit that description. Might be fun to hear those stories!
Good idea! I thought he'd already done that, but no - he did one on the J-57. He has done videos on the P&W R-2800 and the R-4360. Would be great to see one on the J-79.
Appreciate the comment, thanks Max. 'Surprised at the exceedingly high number of nit-pickers on this one - makes me wonder sometimes why I keep doing this.
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart still holds the record set in 1959 - 1,525 MPH - for the World's Fastest Single Engine Jet Interceptor, over a closed course. But the Soviet Mig-23 is rated (in the Wiki) at 1,553 MPH at altitude. The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is also rated at 1,525 MPH. But these two aren't dedicated interceptors.
Showcasing the incredible "Speed Demons" of aviation is a fantastic, informative, and a lot of fun to watch video. Aviation really grew by leaps and bounds in that 60 year period between the Kitty Hawk and the incomparable SR-71 Blackbird. Great work as always Mike.
Excellent Mike, thank you. It should be remembered that the late Chuck Myers, of later LWF Mafia fame, set a preliminary, and unofficial record in the 106, before Rogers. Myers was a civilian, and the USAF wanted the record to go to a USAF pilot.
Brilliant - as ever. However, I would like to point out that the 1934 race from the UK to Australia did not depart from London but from Mildenhall in Suffolk, roughly 80 miles North East of London.
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 I problem. Mildenhall had just opened as an airfield in 1934 and is now one of just two USAF bases in the UK. The nearest big town is Cambridge.
It is amazing how fast aviation progressed....jumped...leap-frogged....in those 60 years...unbelievable..!! it's like once critical mass was reached in understanding the basics of aerodynamics and materials and engines both prop and especially jet, the door flew wide open and today, we will be going to Mars in the very near future. Astounding...!!!
As I understand it, the speed of sound in the Earth's standard atmosphere, is determined by the temperature, with density and pressure having little measurable affect. Speed of Sound in a standard atmospheric temperature of 59 F is 763 MPH and rises as the temperature rises. Altitude and pressure have little affect except that the temperature changes with altitude, but it is the temperature change that changes the Speed of Sound.
What a load of information. My biggest joys in life (not counting God, Family and Country) are Vintage Steam and Aviation. Thanks for helping to keep aviation history alive........
It has been approximately 120 years since the Wright brother's first powered flight. You might say that the first 60 years of flight were revolutionary and the last 60 years have been evolutionary.
Very interesting seeing how far aviation advanced in 60 years from Wright to Blackbird. The next 60 years may not have had as grand of visual designs, but did great advancements.
Didn't Steve Hinton Jr. break the Bearcat speed record in the P-51 Voodoo? and wasn't the XF-88 considered the fastest prop driven plane? Great content as always.
3:46 Why is the North American A3J / A-5 (Vigilante) on the single engine Mach 2 list? At rank 15. Was there a single engine variant? Or is it just a mixup error?
Lol, 1st mistake I ever spotted in any of your already three years of wonderfully uplifting videos, your copy editor is a true gem, as I'm sure you know. I'm still left wondering, however, which aircraft was supposed to have been in that spot on the list instead?
NASA states that the speed of sound at SL under standard conditions is about 761 mph. Mach 2 at SL would be 1522 mph. At altitudes above 35000 ft, the speed of sound is about 660 mph, and Mach 2 would be 1320 mph. I think Mike actually referenced the high altitude figure for Mach 2.
@@viksaini Yes I noticed that, furthermore the A5 Vigilante was not a single engine but a twin engine airplane. But those are minor issues. Mike's enthusiasm and broad perspective of the subject make these things insignificant and only want you to lust for more.
Correct me when I’m wrong, but as air density decreases with altitude increases, the speed of sound decreases. Many of these Mach values are at altitude, where the ground speed would be lower. So, how fast could these airplanes go at sea level? Wouldn’t that be a more accurate relative comparison? Or are the provided max. Mach numbers corrected for altitude already?
FYI, the Bell X-1 had a single flight from a standing start on the runway although it's unclear whether it broke Mach 1. For reference: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n1qs8AwkFaU.html
Yes, that is correct, and the engine burn was only about 90 seconds - enough to get the X-1 to 23,000 ft. before it returned to the lakebed subsonic. The ground-launched Douglas D-558-2 Skyrockets were jet-powered with rocket boost, while the supersonic flights (up to Mach 2) were made by air-launched all-rocket D-558-2s. Thanks for watching!
Top Speed of the Blackbird was around Mach 3.3 at around 90,000 feet. Main limit on the aircraft was the compressor inlet temperature which was around 427 degrees C with a ambient air temperature at around -49 Degress C. The Blackbird hit that limit at Mach 3.3 at 90,000 feet. The temperature of the Atmosphere actually rises above around 80,000 feet at around 1 degree C per 1000 feet. Primary cause of this is the generation and destruction of Ozone.
Great video as always but there is a manned, non air launched, rocket powered aircraft you left out. I know you know it... European... light weight... no horizontal stabilizer... 😉
Always informative and entertaining Mr. Machat! Perhaps for another one of your presentations, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet in fact did takeoff on it’s own rocket power and did perform unofficial record speeds at that time in WWII. There were some rumors that it may have even approached the speed of sound although never substantiated. Keep up the outstanding work sir!